I don't own the X-Men. Wish I did!
This is my first X-Men fanfiction. Please please RandR. I am English, trying to get everything right. Anything I've missed, due to not being a native US of A citizen, please let me know and I'll try and change it.
You Can't Run On Ice
Racing Out
"Remind me again why we're here." Kurt asked Jean as she manoeuvred her car into another lane of traffic.
"It's my old school Kurt, I wanted to come back and see how things are. Besides my sister is running in the two hundred meters."
"Ja." Kurt nodded. "And I get that, why am I here?"
"Because you have nothing better to do with you time and the Professor wanted me to be accompanied by someone." She flashed a smile at him. "That a good enough reason for you?"
Kurt shrugged. "It will do I guess."
Truth be told he was only playing at not wanting to be here. It was nice to be able to sit back and relax. This wasn't a mission; they weren't trying to save the world. He and Jean were just hanging out, visiting family. Scott had wanted to come along, but college work took priority. So when Jean had asked him to accompany her he'd agreed. Like she said he didn't really have anything better to do. He settled back in his chair, closed his eyes and contentedly listened to the radio.
Jean glanced over, keeping a small smile to himself. She too was relishing the calm of just being able to drive somewhere. Magneto wasn't threatening them, Mystic was scheming and planning. The X-Students were starting to settle in. College was under control. Scott was... She smiled. Scott was great. Their relationship was just going from strength to strength. And she couldn't wait to see Sara in her race. Sara had specifically called Jean and asked her to be there. They had been really close before Jean had moved to the Xavier Institute, being this far apart had stretched their relationship. She couldn't wait to see her sister. She would be sixteen soon. Jean couldn't help but wonder if that was why the professor had agreed so willingly to her taking the trip to see her sister. If she was going to go through a mutation. Now was the time that it would start to happen.
Sara had obviously been looking out for her. Jean had just finished parking when Sara bounced up to them.
"You're here!" She grabbed Jean in a huge hug still jumping up and down with excitement.
Jean laughed hugging Sara back. Kurt stood back slightly, looking worried about this strange ritual that the two sisters were engaged in.
Jean finally managed to untangle herself from her sister. "Sara this is Kurt, Kurt this is Sara."
Kurt waved a hello. Sara ran an appreciating eye over him and waved back. Kurt felt a small twinge of regret in the knowledge that she would not be looking at him in the same way was it not for the image inducer that he was wearing. True, Sara knew that Jean was a mutant. So it was likely that she knew he was too. But not a fanged, blue and furry one. He was willing to place bets on her reaction should she ever see him in his true appearance.
Jean's face fell slightly and she gave him a sympathetic smile and Kurt realised that he must have been projecting these pitying thoughts. He mentally shook himself, summoning up the memory of Amanda's kiss as she had waved him off. Why she liked her man blue and fuzzy was beyond him. But he wasn't going to complain about his good fortune.
Sara pulled on Jean's arm. "Come on. I've saved us some seats. But I can't promise that they'll last long."
Jean grabbed Kurt's hand gave it a squeeze and allowed Sara to pull her through the mass of students to her seats.
"This is Jean, Jean this is everybody." Sara said by way of an introduction. She then rattled off names that Jean was never going to remember. Instead she smiled and nodded to as many faces as she could. Kurt was looking nervous again. A good two years older than Sara and her mates he was an intriguing target for the girls that surrounded him, each one chatting away trying to get his attention.
"I love your accent!"
"I love your hair!"
"Say something in German!"
"Say my name!"
Kurt looked desperately at Jean, his eyes begging for help. Jean! Help me!
"So how are we doing?" Jean asked. "Are you guys winning?"
The girls turned their attention to her, telling Jean just how soundly they were thrashing the opposition. Kurt sank into his chair with a sigh of relief.
They passed the time watching the other events. Sara and her mates pointing out their friends and foes alike.
"She thinks she is so it, and you know what Paul said about her? Well it's all true."
"No! Really?!"
Jean couldn't resist skimming their thoughts slightly as she followed their conversation. She raised her eyebrows slightly. So she has done that with Paul had she.
"Ooooo! Jean look!" Sara cried. "That's Ben Palmer. Is he not just sooooo dreamy?"
Jean watched as the object of her sister's affection completed the long jump. He was a tall, well built young man who waved at his cheering admirers. She smiled as Sara almost swooned when Ben waved in their direction.
"Did you see that?"
"He's to die for!"
"He waved at me!"
"Guys! Guys! Bethany is about to race!"
The girls waved frantically at their friend who was at the starting block for the 400 metre race. The gun retort cracked the air and the girls were off. Sara was screaming wildly in Jean's ear.
"Come on Beth!"
As good as Bethany was though, it was clear that she was not going to win the race. Another girl was streaking ahead of the others. They had covered less than 100 metres and she was already well in the lead and increasing the distance between her and the other girls.
She's fast. Jean thought.
Very fast.
Too fast? It was then that she felt a jolt of shock from Kurt as he sat up in his seat to watch the race. The girl was over halfway while the others were lagging behind her like they were walking. The cheers and calls of encouragement were quieting down. Silence gradually fell over the crowd. When the girl crossed the finish line, flushed and clearly thrilled to have won no one so much as clapped.
She looked about her in puzzlement, taking in the fact that the other girls were still running.
"Mutie!" Someone shouted into the silence.
Kurt shot out of his seat.
"Mutant!"
"Scum!"
"Filth!"
The girl looked shocked and scared. She looked wildly around her as though looking for the person that these shouts were aimed at.
"Get out of here Mutie scum!"
Someone threw a bottle. It landed left of the girl, but she flinched as though it had hit her. A can whistled past her ear, and suddenly there were more missiles streaking towards her.
Jean! She heard Kurt cry in her mind.
Jean was already using her telekinesis to make sure that none of the projectiles struck the girl. She moved each one slightly, altering its course. She wanted to send them flying back against the persons that had thrown them. But that wouldn't help them, or the girl.
The girl hadn't moved. She was holding out her hands as if to placate them, shaking her head. She moved forward and was angrily shouting back. The jeers from the crowd drowned out her words.
The other girls had finished the race. They moved towards the girl calling out to her. The girl turned to face them. The conversation was short and clearly heated. The spectators had quietened slightly, eager to hear what was being said. The sounds of the argument carried even if the words themselves couldn't be heard. The six girls were almost surrounding the girl as she tried to explain herself. One of the six stepped up to the girl and slapped her across the face. The sound carried. The girl made to step forward and return the favour. The other five girls moved in to support their friend. The girl looked back at the crowd then fled, the six girls stood back to let her pass, unwilling to touch her.
All Change
Jean we have to go after her. She needs out help
Kurt's urgent thoughts bounced around in Jean's head. He was still standing, clearly just waiting for an excuse to be out of there. He was right; Jean could feel the waves of ill feeling coming of the crowd. If they got hold of that girl... She didn't want to think what might happen. This was her school. This was Sara's school. She looked down at her sister who had sunk into her seat. Sara looked up as she felt Jean's gaze on her.
She suddenly looked older than her sixteen years as she looked into Jean's eyes.
"We have to go." Jean said quietly.
Sara nodded. "Will you find her?"
Jean tried to smile. "We'll certainly try."
"Make sure she's okay." Sara said. "I mean..." She trailed off glancing round at the people around them.
Jean smiled and lent down to give her a hug. "Sorry I missed your race."
Sara gave a small laugh. "Hey, there are more important things, right?"
Jean squeezed her tight then stepped back. Kurt was waiting for her. She nodded and he almost ran down the steps heading to where they had last seen the girl. Jean was busy trying to sense her. All she could feel at the moment was the hatred and disgust coming from the crowd. This is where I grew up, she thought. How can they be feeling like this? How can I have come from somewhere where they feel like this?
What had she done? What had happened? What was going on? Mattie paused in an ally way, trying to get her breathing and her thoughts under control. She'd run. She'd won. She'd won a race. He dad would be so proud when she told him. Except that Stacy had said that she hadn't won. That it didn't count because she was a mutant. Which was crazy. She couldn't be a mutant. Could she? Mattie looked at her hands, they were shaking slightly. But they weren't scaly, or green, or invisible. She couldn't be a mutant. She remembered that she had been so far out in front of the other girls, but she'd just thought that all that extra practice had finally paid off. She couldn't be a mutant, mutants were horrible people. Stacy was wrong. And Mattie was fully going to pay her back for that slap. Stacy had it coming.
"So here you are." A voice broke into her thoughts
Whirling she saw Jeff Barkley, Tom Dally and other members of the football team approaching her.
"We saw you run off." Jeff said moving closer to her.
Mattie sighed. "I think everybody did."
"It's strange." Tom said. "You turning out to be a mutant and all."
"I'm not!" Mattie denied hotly. "I'm not a mutant!"
"I think you are." Tom disagreed.
"Yeah." Jeff backed him up. "We all saw you. No one human can run that fast."
"But... But I am human." Mattie protested.
"Na." Jeff slipped his arm around her shoulders as Tom closed in on her from the other side. "You're a mutant. And you know what they say about mutants."
"The only good mutant is a dead mutant." Carl Thompson said with a sick grin as he and the others closed in as well.
Mattie watched them coming closer in disbelief. This wasn't real. People didn't do this. Okay so she wasn't best mates with the football team. But they were people she knew. People she sat next to in class. People she had know for years. People who did not go around killing other people.
"It's like our civic duty to get rid of mutants." One of them said
"Hey yeah." Another agreed.
"Getting rid of a problem before it starts."
"We're doing you a favour really."
"You should be thanking us."
Mattie forced herself to laugh. "Very funny guys." She tried to pull free of Jeff but found that she couldn't. "Jokes over, way to make me feel better. But I really have to be going now."
Carl reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. "We're not joking, mutie scum."
"To bad we have to kill you." Jeff said. "You're actually really pretty." He ran his fingers through a strand of her honey brown hair. He turned to run an appreciative eye over her sports top and shorts.
Tom looked thoughtful, he raised an eyebrow. "Nobody cares what happens to a mutant."
Jeff let his hand slid down the length of Mattie's body. "Man's got a point."
"No way! No fucking way!" Mattie shoved his hand away. "Don't you fucking touch me!"
Jeff ignored her running his hand over her flat stomach.
"Get the fuck away from me." Mattie pulled herself free from his grip and before he could react she had landed her fist on the bridge of his nose.
For a second she thought that the snap she had heard was her knuckles. Why did no one mention that punching people hurt? Then she saw Jeff stager back clutching at his nose. Blood was gushing from it running between his fingers.
"You little bitch!"
Tom made a grab for her but Mattie spun away from him and he floundered past her in slow motion. He turned, but that too seemed in slow motion. She looked around her and saw that they were all lumbering at half speed. Only she was moving at the right speed. Prepared to use any advantage she pivoted away from Tom and tried to make a break for it. The footballers closed ranks around her and Carl swiped at her with his knife. She managed to dodge him, but the knife grazed her arm.
And suddenly the world was back at normal speed. She clutched at her arm in pain, she saw blood, bright red blood, dripping from the knife and she knew it was hers. It hurt, it hurt like hell, worse, the pain seemed to have taken away whatever advantage she'd had. Tom finally managed to lay hold of her and he slammed her against a wall, knocking the breath out of her.
"Mutant scum!" He hissed. "Now you are gonna get what you deserve." He held her arms at her sides squeezing tightly. The cut on her left arm throbbed, but Mattie knew that what was coming next would be worse.
"Please don't do this." She begged, hating herself for the tears that spilled down her cheeks.
"Do it." Tom commanded and Carl stepped forward brandishing the knife. The other members of the team gathered closer, getting off on her fear.
"Please." She sobbed watching the knife coming closer and closer. Carl tossed it from hand to hand; relishing the way that her eyes followed it's every move. He gave a chuckle that turned into a cry of surprise as the knife went spinning from his grasp and landed twenty feet away.
"Naughty boys. You shouldn't play with knifes." A male voice chastised the footballers. Then there was a flurry of movement as an agile figure landed in the middle of the group and started handing out blows.
Carl gave a cry of rage and swung at the figure. His fist slammed into the figure's stomach. Or would have done if he had been there. But he wasn't. Instead there was a cloud of smoke which Carl fell into as his swing sent him off balance. He got to his feet before being knock back down again as the figure kicked him from behind. Then he was gone in a puff of smoke again.
The rest of the footballers where faring no better. The rubbish in the ally way was swirling around them. Newspapers blew in their faces, bottles clouted them round the head, a trash can came rolling down the street at them scattering them like bowling pins.
They paused, that was long enough for the figure to launch his attack on them. Kicking and punching, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Tom glared at Mattie. "Some of your mutie mates?" He sneered raising his fist to pound her face. Mattie flinched.
"Hu?" Tom was staring at his fist. He was clearly struggling to move it, but it was frozen in place.
"Did no one tell you that it is not nice to hit girls?" A tall, red head stood behind him. Mattie stared and notice that she wasn't standing, she was floating!
"Let me go." Tom looked scared. He'd gone pale beneath his sun bed tan.
The red head eyed him coolly. "Why should I do that? Is that what you were planning to do?"
Her gaze flicked to Mattie. Her eyes softened as they met Mattie's; there was almost a smile in them.
We're here to help you
Mattie gave a shudder as the words formed in her head without her ears having anything to do with it.
Tom released his hold on Mattie. "I'll let her go." Now he sounded really scared. But then anyone who could stop his fist without touching him was pretty scary Mattie concluded. She slipped past Tom and ran down the ally. No one tried to stop her. She heard a cry as Tom's fist smashed into the wall.
Jumping over one of the football players who lay groaning on the street she started running. Okay, she thought wildly, if I've got some fucked up mutant power then I need to use it. Run fast. Now! Nothing seemed to happen, until she looked up and noticed that the street was flying past as though she was in a car doing sixty. Alright so that had worked, more than she'd expected. Well, right now she needed some distance, and it looked like she was going to get it.